Superstar singer Luther Vandross treated food like ‘medicine’ to help him cope with being a perfectionist songwriter, a new documentary is due to reveal.
The ‘Velvet Teddy Bear’ – who died in 2005 – binged on junk food because he saw it as a ‘panacea’ or cure for stress when he didn’t feel like the music was right.
Vandross, who was only 54 at the time of his death, admitted to one close friend that he was ‘obsessed’ about food all the time.
According to ‘Never Too Much’, which airs on CNN on January 1, Vandross was an ’emotional eater’ and used food the same way others used drugs.
In a frank admission, he once told a friend: ‘I’m thinking about food from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep.’
During his lifetime Vandross’s weight yo-yoed back and forth between 180lbs and more than 300lbs around 14 times.
Luther Vandross treated food like his ‘medicine’ to help him cope with being a perfectionist songwriter, a new documentary reveals
The documentary, which will air on CNN, on January 1 delves into the private life of Vandross including his struggles with food, his public image, his rise to fame and his sexuality
Vandross loved carbs and junk food and he once admitted that he ate a hamburger between two glazed donuts because he couldn’t find any bread. This unhealthy habit led to him yo-yo-yo-yoing between 180lbs and more than 300lbs around 14 times
A self-confessed carb addict, he once admitted that he had eaten a hamburger between two glazed donuts because he couldn’t find any bread.
He would go on a high protein diet and cut out pasta, rice and potatoes yet couldn’t make it last and his weight would spiral up again by more than 100lbs.
But the toll on Vandross’s body began to mount, especially as he suffered from diabetes and hypertension, and in 2003 he suffered a severe stroke.
He recovered the ability to walk but died two years later.
Never Too Much, titled after his 1981 debut single that hit number one on the Billboard charts, revealed that Vandross’s weight struggles held him back early in his career while he was part of a group called Listen My Brother, which appeared on early episodes of the children’s television show Sesame Street.
Friend Carlos Almomar said that Vandross’s size meant he wasn’t the ‘top dog’ in the group and that his weight was a ‘problem’.
Vandross was deeply insecure about his weight. When comedian Eddie Murphy joked about him eating Kentucky Fried Chicken during a set, the iconic singer brought a huge stack of KFC buckets and paraded them around the stage while Murphy was in the audience
‘Even during those years you still had prejudices about the look, not the talent,’ Almomar said.
After being spotted by David Bowie while he was a back-up singer, Vandross’s career exploded in 1981 with his debut album, ‘Never Too Much’, which went platinum.
Twelve other platinum albums would follow, but so would cruel taunts about his weight – which was a struggle throughout his entire life.
Vandross was infamously mocked by comedian Eddie Murphy as a ‘big Kentucky Fried Chicken eating m***********’.
The iconic singer responded by bringing a giant stack of KFC buckets on stage during a show where he knew Murphy was in the audience.
In a recording of the gig shown during the documentary, Vandross joked that he ‘didn’t want to let Eddie Murphy down’.
Vandross dropped twelve other platinum albums, but cruel taunts about his weight severely affected the singer’s mental wellbeing, which friends said he struggled with throughout his life
But the singer’s close friends revealed that joking was a coping mechanism for him.
Bass player Marcus Miller said: ‘Luther had been dealing with this weight thing forever. He was at his best in terms of his humor when he got attacked or in a situation that was difficult for him.
‘His humor got him through, but it was hard for him.’
Another close friend, Robin Clark, said: ‘With him, it was all or nothing at all. He was either eating or he was dieting.
‘I used to say just do it when you’re ready but he felt this was something he had to do to be accepted.’
In unearthed interviews shown on the documentary, Vandross described himself as an ’emotional eater’.
Vandross’s ’emotional eating’ resurged in 1986 after he crashed his convertible, killing his close friend, Larry Salvemini, who was in the passenger seat
In one interview he said that if the ‘music wasn’t sounding right, I ate to cope – any excuse, I used to eat.’
His demons reared up again in 1986 after he crashed his convertible while driving on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Los Angeles – killing his close friend Larry Salvemini, who was in the passenger seat.
Vandross admitted reckless driving on the second day of the trial for misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
The Salvemini family was initially sympathetic to Vandross but ended up taking him to court in a wrongful death lawsuit. It was settled out of court for around $630,000.
Clark, his friend, says in the documentary: ‘It took a toll on him and he thought food was his panacea, food was his medicine.
‘He said food has never let me down. I said yes it has. Food is not your friend.’
Iconic singer David Bowie spotted Vandross while he was a background singer. In this clip from the documentary he’s seen in the back left of the group
After being spotted by Bowie, Vandross’s career exploded in 1981 with his debut album, ‘Never Too Much’ – which went platinum
After the crash, Vandross ballooned by 120lbs and feared he wouldn’t be able to go back on tour.
Vandross also spoke to Oprah Winfrey about his unhealthy habit saying eating was about his ’emotional state’ and said it was his ‘coping mechanism’.
He said: ‘If you feel hurt or betrayed you cope with something. You go to church, you do drugs, you overeat. You do something to cope.’
Almoma said he told Vandross, ‘Dude, you can’t keep this up’ and urged him to find an equilibrium.
Clark said: ‘We all worried about it, how many times can your body take it.’
Vandross responded: ‘You don’t have the same problem I have. I obsess about food. I’m thinking about food from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep.
Vandross spoke to Oprah Winfrey about his unhealthy habit saying eating was about his ’emotional state’ and said it was his ‘coping mechanism’
After going through a career slump, Vandross had a big hit in 2003 with Dance With My Father which spoke about his relationship with his dad who passed away when he was eight
‘I said woah,’ Clark said.
Vandross’s career slumped in the 90s but he had another huge hit in 2003 with Dance With My Father, his most personal song to date that discusses his relationship with his dad, who died when he was eight.
With the launch of the song and the accompanying album, Vandross’s record label decided to promote it by focusing on his weight loss.
The documentary claimed that it was ‘heartbreaking’ for Vandross.
Clark said in the film: ‘We worried about him because when Luther was under stress is when he would eat.
‘He was back and forth at the studio 24/7….he was working like crazy.’
Close friend Patti LaBelle confirmed after Vandrosss’s death that he was gay. The documentary also delves into his sexuality
Singers Little Richard and Luther Vandross attending the premiere of ‘Hail! Hail! Rock-N-Roll’ in October 1987, at the AMC Theater in Century City, California
Amid the mounting stress, Vandross suffered a massive stroke at his home in Philadelphia.
His late mother Mary said in an interview at the time he had put most of his weight back on and that he was ‘struggling’ to get it off.
‘And yet he would eat uncontrollably,’ Mary said.
A few days before his stroke, Mary had visited her son and became worried because he was ‘eating everything in sight’.
She said that he was exasperated at his addiction to food, telling her: ‘Mama, I just don’t know what to do anymore.’
Never Too Much also delves into Vandross’s sexuality – his close friend Patti LaBelle confirmed after his death that he was gay.
Vandross’s bad eating habits took a toll on his body, especially as he suffered from diabetes and hypertension. In 2003, he suffered a severe stroke and passed away two years later at 54
The documentary stated that he stayed in the closet because at that time it was a harmful stigma and he didn’t want to turn away his female fans or upset his mother.
According to Clark, Vandross told her that he ‘felt like a trick had been played on me’.
Clark said: ‘(He said) God has given me everything I asked for except for this one thing.’
When she asked what Vandross meant, he replied: ‘To have one person who loves me.’
Vandross’s former personal assistant, Max Szadek, says in the film that he grew to despise Vandross’s song Any Love, which the singer said was his favorite because it was so honest.
Szadek saw it differently and saw the lyrics – which include the words ‘What a world for the lonely guy/Sometimes I feel I’m gonna lose my mind/Can anybody tell me just where to find/Any love, any love?’ as a cry for help.
He said: ‘I could see the desperation described in that song was real.
‘I hated that song after that because it always reminded me he wasn’t seeking love, he was seeking “any love”.’